Editorial policy

The guides and the
members never touch.

The homeowner guides are editorially independent from Member Profiles. Below is the full set of rules that keep them that way — written down so any reader can hold us to it.

  1. 01

    No member appears in a guide.

    No member is mentioned by name, linked, quoted, photographed, or featured inside the homeowner guides. Member status does not change the editorial treatment of a guide topic.

  2. 02

    No guide topic is chosen by member demand.

    Members do not commission, suggest, or veto guide topics. The editorial roadmap is set by buyer research from homeowner-side sources only.

  3. 03

    No guide answer is softened to suit members.

    When the guides describe what a "cowboy" looks like, the description is not adjusted to spare any member's feelings. The standard is the standard.

  4. 04

    No referral path runs from guides to members.

    The homeowner guides do not link to the members directory in a "find a tradie now" context. Cross-links between the sites exist for transparency and for understanding the publisher — not for funneling readers into a paid product.

  5. 05

    No homeowner data flows to members.

    If a homeowner reaches out via the guides or the root publisher contact, that communication is never on-shared to any member, ever — whether the member asked for it or not.

  6. 06

    No member can buy editorial influence.

    No member tier, no Founding-Member status, no "premium" subscription — none of these unlock any influence on the guides. There is no premium tier for a reason.

  7. 07

    No guide page runs member ads.

    The guides carry no member display advertising, no sponsored modules, no "featured tradie" boxes. The reading experience stays clean.

  8. 08

    Corrections cut both ways.

    If a member identifies an error in a guide, we treat the correction on the merits of the evidence — not on the relationship. The corrections log is public and timestamped.

If we ever cross the line

If you spot a violation of this policy — a guide that recommends a member, a guide answer that looks softened, anything that smells like influence — write to editorial @ needatrade.com.au. We answer every editorial separation complaint.